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Announcement: World of Warcraft Raid for the Cure!

Latest Update on November 4th can be found at the bottom of the post.

On October 28th of 2009, Julie, a member of the World of Warcraft guild Sidhe Devils on Kael’thas (US), revealed to us that she had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Her first treatment is scheduled to begin on November 9th.

To show our support and love for Julie while she takes on this new challenge, her friends in Sidhe Devils are organizing an event within the game of World of Warcraft that we’re calling the Raid for the Cure.

What it is

On Kael’thas (US), a united cross-faction walk across Azeroth will be held on Saturday, November 14th, starting at 2:00 PM Central Time (Kael’thas-US server time).

Members of both Alliance and Horde factions are invited to attend. Pink Mageweave Shirts will be handed out for all walkers, and all levels of characters will be welcome. If you’d like, bring your own shirt, or even make it a formal affair with your Festive Pink Dress!

The walk across Azeroth will not be a race of individuals, it will be a group march to show Julie our love and support.

We do want to help spread the word, and encourage donations in a cheerful way to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity, an organization that promotes information and awareness on early detection and treatment of breast cancer, and that supports funding for treatment and research towards a cure.

The Raffle

To that end, we will be holding a raffle. There will be various prizes sponsored by myself and others within the WoW blog community.

The grand prize (if prize it is) will be a guest appearance on the podcast Sidhe Devils Gone Wild, and influence on our talking points for that show.

Entry to the raffle is quite simple. Go to the World of Warcraft Raid for the Cure donation website, a website created by us but administered and maintained by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and make an online donation, using a valid email address. Once you have received your emailed receipt of donation, just email us a copy of your receipt to tigerlordgm AT yahoo DOT com with the words Raid for the Cure Raffle Entry in the title. That’s it. One entry per person, no minimum donation necessary.

The Raid for the Cure Event Details

The event itself will take place on Saturday, November 14th on the Kael’thas (US) server. The first start time will be at 2:00 PM Central time.

We intend to have two initial teams, one for the Alliance and one for the Horde.

We also intend to support different start times for players that would like to participate, but might not get online or prepared on time.

Julie has told us that her favorite starting zone in World of Warcraft is Darnassus.

To honor her fun in the game, the first Alliance team will form up near Conservator Ilthalaine in Shadowglen, the Night Elf starting area. There will be designated event coordinators there to hand out the Pink Mageweave Shirts.

This team will leave Shadowglen at approximately 2:00 PM Central Time (Kael’thas-US server time).

The Alliance team will travel as a group to Darnassus, and then down to the dock to take voyage upon a mighty ship to the port city of Auberdine in Darkshore. The team will arrive at Auberdine at approximately 2:15 PM. There will be a break to hand out more Pink Mageweave Shirts for those joining the run at this time, and then the team will head off to Astranaar in Ashenvale.

The Alliance team will arrive at Astranaar in Ashenvale near Dalyshia, the Flight Master of Astranaar at approximately 2:30 PM. There will be another short break to hand out Pink Mageweave Shirts if needed.

Meanwhile, the Horde team will have formed up next to Grull Hawkwind in Camp Narache, the Tauren starting area in Mulgore. There will be Horde side event coordinators prepared to hand out more of the inimitable Pink Mageweave Shirts.

At 2:30 PM, both Horde and Alliance teams will depart their respective locations, Astranaar and Camp Narache, and head on foot for the Crossroads in the Barrens.

Both teams should arrive at the Crossroads nearly simultaneously at 2:45 PM server time.

At this point, the last handing out of Pink Mageweave Shirts will be performed, everyone will gather together, hopefully as one great Raid representing both factions, and between 2:45 and 3:00 PM depart Crossroads, headed for the city of Ratchet, and her infamous dock.

The cross-faction group will take ship from Ratchet for Booty Bay, and there descend as one upon that pestilential city of pirates for the wrap up, followed by a wild dance party. Bring your Pink Elekks and pony kegs!

Immediately after the completion of the march, the raffle drawing will be performed offline, and results posted on the blog for all to see.

Thank you all very much for your time in reading this post. I sincerely hope I will see you there in two weeks!

Take care everyone, and please, please keep Julie in your thoughts and prayers.

And just one more thing. If you have not as of yet done so, I respectfully request that all of the wonderful ladies amongst my readership think about visiting a doctor as soon as you can to be tested for Breast Cancer. Never forget, the earlier Breast Cancer is detected, the better!

Call me selfish if you must, but I’d really prefer not to lose any of you. I treasure each and every one of you.

Your Donations of Prizes for the Raffle VERY welcome!

If you would like to donate a prize for the raffle, please contact me at tigerlordgm AT yahoo DOT com, with the words Raffle Prize Donation in the title. And thank you very much in advance for even considering it!

Update: November 4th.

Charities other than Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The event is to help bring awareness about Breast Cancer to the community, in Julie’s honor. Towards that end, we have consolidated our efforts towards donations through Susan G. Komen for the Cure. However, we feel that the point is not who you donate to specifically, but instead the awareness and the sense of community.

If you would like to make a donation to the cause of Breast Cancer research and awareness, or towards Cancer research in general and take part in the raffle, but do not wish to donate to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a donation made to any other charitable Cancer-focused organizations is also welcome, so long as they provide an email receipt as proof of donation.

If you do make such a donation and wish to enter the raffle, simply follow the steps above as described in sending the email receipt to tigerlordgm AT yahoo DOT com with the title Raid for the Cure Raffle Entry, and you will be entered into the raffle.

Suggestions for other charitable organizations you may be interested in donating towards include;

Handmade scarf with the emblem of the Horde, doanted by Lauren of P’ville Girl.

Handmade scarf with the emblem of the Alliance, donated by Lauren of P’ville Girl.

One finished and colored art commision of an animal subject, Warcraft related or not, by Tami Moore (sometimes known as a Saucy Wench).

A choice of the Panderan Monk or Mini KT non-combat pet. There are 3 of these prizes available, courtesy of Jong of Forbearance!

One custom “very pink” plush Moonkin, based on the pattern from a WoW.com article from April. The Moonkin plush is over a foot tall, and is being made with high quality, ridiculously pink fur. Since Sidhe Devils is an Alliance guild, Serthida is putting big antlers on this guy instead of Tauren horns. This is still being made, but here is a picture of the status so far. Still needs his hand and foot claws, his medallions attached in the right places (they’re just pinned on), some eyes, and a tail. Custom made and donated by Serthida of Serthida’s Save State!

Grand Prize: A guest appearance on the podcast Sidhe Devils Gone Wild, and influence on the discussion topics for that show. This is not for a few minutes, but being on the show for the duration of that episode. If the winner of this prize is bashful, then an item from the Big Bear Butt Cafepress store, and private conversation with the members of the Sidhe Devils Gone Wild (non-recorded) can be substituted instead. :)

Special Event Guild NOT being formed!

We do not intend to form a special Alliance or Horde guild for this event, like others have done in the past. We expect to have many people with pre-existing characters on the server participating, characters that are already in guilds of their own. So rather than ask existing people on the server to leave their guilds for the day, or miss out on chat/details in a guild chat area, we will instead be setting up custom chat channels on both Alliance and Horde side that people can join the day of the event. The info on the names of the chat channels, and instructions on how to setup/join a custom chat channel will be posted here a day or two before the event.

Server crashing concerns

We realize that this event is getting a lot more publicity than anticipated, and expected attendance numbers may go beyond what we expected. We planned on reducing the load on the server as much as possible by having multiple starting areas (both Alliance and Horde) AND multiple areas within each faction. New characters will obviously have to start in the starter zones, but higher level characters and people that already play on Kael’thas can start in the secondary meeting zones (Auberdine or Astranaar for Alliance, Camp Taurajo and Crossroads for Horde). We really hope that this will help minimize any stress on the server.

68 thoughts on “Announcement: World of Warcraft Raid for the Cure!”

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I might not be able to show. None of you know me, I had just heard about your blog before and I decided to check it out, but I want to thank you? This means a lot to everyone out there who has had breast cancer, or has known someone diagnosed with it. I am the latter. All these charities and things really do make a difference, whether physically or mentally, and they are so appreciated. I will try my hardest to come. <3

First off, my prayers go out to Julie, fight hard, and make a swift recovery.

Secondly, I love this idea, but seeing as you are asking a bunch of alliance players to go traipsing through Horde territory wearing pink shirts and dresses, have you given any thought to the need for security, to prevent a Serenity Now incident?
.-= The Renaissance Man´s last blog ..The Fundamentals of Tanking: Perception in Ulduar =-.

Renaissance Man, we are assembling our forces, so to speak. This is not a level 1 run, anyone at all is welcome, and we hope to have the Sidhe Devils out on their mains in force to, um, run security so to speak.

Your point is well made that we could ask for volunteers to be part of the anti-gank community, though. :)

As someone with (way too) many relatives who have been treated for breast cancer, I second BBB’s request that all the ladies do their self-exams & get their mammograms (if they’re in that age bracket). I’ll also point out that men get breast cancer too, so if you guys notice anything strange, have it checked out!
The Komen Foundation is a wonderful resource and a great place for donations as they support programs, both research and treatment, all around the country.

Thank you to everyone who has expressed kind thoughts, and please, as BBB said, please get checked. Had I acted sooner, I wouldn’t have quite as big of a fight in front of me. If you are >30, get a mammogram, >40 is crap, the most dangerous breast cancer (and most deadly) is that which manifests itself in young women. I am 37, if I had not had another health issue that ended up detecting this incidentally, I would have waited 3 more years before getting a mammogram….and it would have been too late. Please, take care of yourselves. Get Checked.

I lost my husband to brain cancer two years ago, so anything to do with fighting cancer is Good Stuff in my book. I’m working on a donation for the raffle, and will be in touch in the next couple of days once it’s finished. Hopefully my Secret Thing will be cool, and inspire people to need lots of raffle tickets for a chance to win it. :)
.-= Serthida´s last blog ..So…much…raiding =-.

I’ve never played on that server, but it is in my battlegroup (I’m from Alexstrasza, home of the infamous PVP raiders)
I would make a character on this server just to attend the event. This is the sweetest thing I think the World of Warcraft community has ever seen, and I hope it inspires some people to make big changes in the game community.
My aunt was diagnosed with Breast Cancer just a few months ago, so I know how important an issue this is.
I will definitely attend. :)

I am all or breast cancer walks and such and my heart goes out to Julie, but it seems to me that people forget there are others kinds of cancer. My girlfriends mother died at the age of 30 a month ago of Colon Cancer. but nobody gives a damn about colon cancer no one wants to talk about treating colons. It makes me sad that the only cancer people outwardly care about is cancer thats affects breasts.

Oh this is a great idea. I think you all are doing great things!! Both my grandmothers have battled breast cancer so I am a sure my time will come. Yes it is a battle but with a good support system you can win over it!! I wish you luck Julie. I have my calender set I will see you there!

First time poster, so first of all – love the blog and the bearwalls of text ;)
Cool initiative, unfortunately can’t attend (EU account :( )
Any chance of enabling donations via PayPal?
Call me a scrooge, but I’m not too keen on being billed by my bank for currency exchange for a transaction in USD

Okay, it’s posted on DIA’s boards. Now I have to decide what toon to bring considering the walk… They are going to be TONS of baby toons there needing heavy protection, particularly through Ashenvale… So while I’d like to bring my baby Kay there, maybe I should bring the DK to help protect them all… Or maybe I should take some time and level baby Kay enough.. ::chuckle::

Othercancer, as Manny mentioned earlier in the comments, he has endured and survived colon cancer himself, and he is my bestest friend in the whole dang world (not to mention my best man at my wedding!). I believe I can safely say that I am well aware that breast cancer is not the only form of cancer that is a threat to life that must be checked for. Additionally, I know for myself that I’m right smack dab at the age where prostate cancer is something I need to go in and get checked for, because I’m an old fart now.

I can appreciate the frustration that comes when one aspect of something gets a lot of attention and support, and you feel that something equally important and dangerous feels marginalized or dismissed. That’s not our intent here. Our intent is to support our friend Julie at this time, and to honor her wishes that we do what we can to help bring renewed awareness of how close to home breast cancer can strike to the people we can reach, because that is specifically what she is dealing with and fighting against right now.

Rzeski, in answer to your question, we are absolutely not going to take donations personally. We are using the Susan G. Komen administered site specifically so that we do not ever have any part in handling money for this event. I trust me, Cassie trusts me, and perhaps even possibly some of my readers trusts me. However, this is the anonymous internet, and I will be damned before I let anyone’s suspicious nature taint what we’re doing by thinking we’re trying to make a buck. And let’s be honest… someone, somewhere would assume that if there was a Paypal donation site, that we were keeping the money. It’s that kind of world.

What you’ve brought to my attention is the currency exchange difficulties, and how this can make donations from countries other than the US a pain in the butt.

The point of this really wasn’t to specify donations be made to a US based charity. It was the simplest approach, that’s all. I will immediately begin researching other worldwide breast cancer research and support charities that have online donation methods, and add them to the list of charities you can support.

I do know I can say right now, if you donate to a breast cancer charitable institution, and you obtain a receipt, if you email me the receipt as described above, you WILL be entered into the raffle. Okay?

And if you do know of worthy organisations open to EU server players, please share the details with me. :)

Kattrinsaa, it was very cool to talk briefly with you last night. Sorry I cut it off so fast, but things always seem to be, well, rushed and busy these days. Always something that must be done, everything I do I rush through to get to the next thing to do. I look forward to chatting with you again soon!

Too bad I dont have a high lvled toon on your server. I believe in showing support for anyone, whether I know them or not, through something like this. I would be much obliged to offer my support, even though I probably will not attend.
And film this and stick it up on youtube!

For the Asia Pacific peoples who might be concerned about currency exchange etc for donation, may I suggest the McGrath Foundation which can be found here which allows online donations http://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/.

This is a great thing and as an avid gamer, I am glad to help out! Email confirmation incoming.

Bigbearbutt, as far as the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund, they do great work as do all of the other organizations raising funds for all types of illnesses. It’s not my first donation to them!

Just to let you know, I’ve forwarded this to my daughter who has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and lives in Denver. She just completed the Denver Marathon a couple weeks ago as the 2nd highest fundraiser for Team in Training (http://www.teamintraining.org/) which goes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org). Her run was to honor Kristin Katich (http://kristinkatich.blogspot.com/). I sent her this site link which she’s going to circulate among her extensive network of business associates and friends so I think your goal is going to get blow out of the water!

Thank you for organizing this. I don’t have a website of my own, so I created an event on Facebook (I yoinked the image you used without permission – I hope that’s OK, and will gladly remove it if it isn’t).